Have you got a septic tank and/or LPG heating ??

[scatterbrain]

Sorry - am still on about the house we looked at today !!! Really liked it but not sure what to think about a few things !!

Has anyone got a septic tank ?? This house is described as having "private drainage" which I assume means a septic tank ! It also has a sort of raised bed on the patio - about 6 feet from the house, gravel surrounded by sleepers - which looks strange and I am wondering whether this is anything to do with septic tank - of course estate agaent had no idea !!

Am just wondering about whether these things smell, how often you have them eptied and how much it costs !!!

Also the heating is LPG gas !! Is that good ?? Is it good for environment - and is it expensive ???

Thanks !!!

quick bump then I'm off to bed !

LPG not very eco - not dreadful either, can be quite expensive

Private drainage could be

Cess pit - regularily emptied
Septic tank - less often
Reed beds - (hope so - but unlikely)

Message withdrawn

Ooh thanks !!! That sounds like good news !

We are going to put in an offer later this morning !

We're moving to a house with a septic tank in a few weeks time (fingers crossed). Yes, it is most likely under the raised bed - our is under the lawn but you can see a bit of a hump where it's buried. Our solicitor has said that it will need emptying every 3-4years at a cost of £75..and current water bill is only £7 per month (is metered but is big house) compared to £19 per month for our metered house at the moment.
I had no idea how they worked but seems to be that the liquid waste 'seeps' out via pipes into the surrounding earth (our garden is very slopey and is meant to be ideal for this but our vendor says that if gardens are flatter it is not so ideal). Solid stuff stays in the tank and gets pumped out eventually.
There was no 'whiff' about our new house!

We will have LPG for the cooking hob only. We have oil-fired boiler but are looking at replacing it with a 'biomass (wood pellet) boiler which is better for the environment (and may be a bit cheaper)

Oh great - thanks for that EColi (love the name btw) !

Is LPG expensive? We have central heating on for 2 hours morning and 2 hours evening, plus it heats water at the same time. This year we didn't put the heating on until November.

The LPG tank costs £500 for a big fill and I've just had a 'small' top-up for £300. So my LPG bill since late Autumn is £800. It will need another £500 put in it before we turn the heating off in March/Apr. It's been so long since I lived in a normal house that I have nothing to compare it too. But I do know that if I had the heating on all day I'd be bankrupt by now! As a size guide, the main house is 6 beds with an additional floor of attic bedrooms but they're not heated.

Our septic is emptied once or twice a year and costs just over £100. The council does it as they're much cheaper than the private companies (one quoted us £700!!!!).